A second local university is cutting jobs.

Lewis University in Romeoville announced this week that it is reducing its workforce by 10%.

The university in a news release issued Wednesday attributed the cuts to a sharp decline in international students due to visa challenges and “external factors” affecting Lewis and other universities across the country.

The announcement from Lewis follows confirmation from the University of St. Francis in Joliet last week that it has cut 18 staff positions and will eliminate an unspecified number of faculty jobs in May.

Also last week, Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights announced that it will close at the end of the spring semester.

The Lewis cuts mean 63 people are losing their jobs, although roughly 30 of those chose an early retirement option offered by the university.

Seventeen staff members were laid off, and another 16 faculty members were given notice that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of the spring semester.

“We did it all in one day because we didn’t want anyone to feel as if there’s another shoe going to drop,” Lewis University President David Livingston said Friday.

Livingston said no more job cuts are planned.

A dozen of the job reductions will be achieved by not filling openings, Livingston said.

Many faculty positions being eliminated are tied to a loss in international students, many of whom were enrolled in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs, Livingston said.

Lewis has seen a significant growth in international students to the point that they reached nearly 20% of the university’s enrollment, which is at 7,000 now.

The number of international students has gone from a high of 1,417 to 874 in the fall semester.

The job cuts are mainly due to the loss in tuition revenue from international students, Livingston said.

“We don’t seriously believe that’s going to be coming back,” Livingston said. “The national trend on international students is not going to change on the federal level.”

The Trump Administration has put new limits on visa holders, including foreign students, to address what it calls abuse of the visa system leading to students staying in the United States for indefinite amounts of time without being properly monitored.

Livingston said Lewis has not seen abuse of the visa system among its students.

But the change in federal policy has led to what Lewis described in its news release as “an unexpected shortfall in tuition revenue for the current fiscal year.”

The Lewis reorganization plan, including job cuts, should lead to a balanced operating budget for the 2027 fiscal year, which begins this coming July, Livingston said.

Livingston in a statement in the university news release described the workforce reduction as “an extraordinarily difficult moment for our community.”

“While today’s events are disheartening, through disciplined planning and the support of our board of trustees, alumni, and benefactors, we will continue to provide transformative education for generations to come,” Livingston said.